Retail sales in the country increased by 1.7% in 2023, a higher percentage compared to the previous year when it closed with a 1% increase. Despite a 1.3% decline in December, the overall result for the year was positive. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), which released the Monthly Retail Survey (PMC) on Wednesday (7), December was the “second effectively negative result for 2023”.
It was also outside the range of variation between -0.1% and -0.5% and was the most significant decline after a 0.8% decrease in May, as explained by the IBGE.
The research manager, Cristiano Santos, noted that the higher result in 2022 maintained a trend of 6 consecutive years of growth. “Also sectorally, speaking of extended retail, we observed a spread of positive results, with only four out of the 11 categories in the negative field,” he said in a text released by IBGE.
Among the 11 activities surveyed in the scope of extended retail, seven ended the year with an increase. Vehicles and motorcycles, parts and pieces increased by 8.1%; pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles increased by 4.7%; fuels and lubricants increased by 3.9%; hyper, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco increased by 3.7%; equipment and material for office, informatics and communication increased by 2%; furniture and appliances increased by 1%, and specialized wholesale in food products, beverages and tobacco increased by 1%.
Cristiano Santos believes that the growth in vehicles and motorcycles, parts and accessories signifies a recovery of the sector, which had experienced a period of low revenues, especially after the pandemic. “The sector experienced a significant decline and a very slow recovery after several closures in previous years. The results of 2023 indicate a return to a certain level of normalcy.”
On the other hand, the activity in other personal and domestic use items witnessed a decline of 10.9%, textiles, clothing, and footwear experienced a decrease of 4.6%, books, newspapers, magazines, and stationery dropped by 4.5%, and construction materials saw a decline of 1.9%.
“Analyzing the categories that experienced the greatest decline, they have specific justifications. The 10.9% decline in other personal and household articles is closely linked to the accounting crisis of major department store brands. In textiles, clothing, and footwear, it is a trend that started after the pandemic and is now the second consecutive year of declines, which is also related to changes in consumer behavior,” analyzed the manager.
Cristiano Santos further stated that in the books, newspapers, and stationery category, 2023 followed the historical trend of migrating physical products to digital media, which had already been observed.
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